Each of the above-referenced applications is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a mechanism for loading and unloading a cartridge from a disk drive.
2. Description of the Related Art
Data storage disks, and in particular optical data storage disks, are widely used for a number of purposes. For example, downloading data via computer networks such as the Internet onto data storage disks is becoming increasingly popular. The downloaded data may include movies, music recordings, books, and other media. There are different types and sizes of data storage disks available for storing and accessing the downloaded information.
Data storage disks are often housed in cartridge or cassette to protect the disk from damage. For example, magnetic disks (also referred to as floppy discs) are commonly housed in a cartridge referred to a diskette. Diskettes are inserted into the computer by the user. Typically, a spring is used to exert a force to hold the diskette in a fixed position. Holding the diskette in place using pressure from a spring can be suitable for stationery operation. However, a spring-loaded mechanism has several disadvantages for portable devices.
Portable computers and other data reading devices are subject to being bumped, jarred and dropped by the user. These actions can exert transient forces on the body of the computer (or other device) which in turn are transmitted to the cartridge or diskette. These transient forces may compress the spring, allowing the cartridge or diskette to move. Allowing the cartridge or diskette to move can interrupt the transfer of data from the disk to the device and cause operational failure.
Accordingly, what is needed is a mechanism to load and unload a data storage cartridge or diskette into a portable disk drive, without use of a spring, such that the cartridge is fixedly held in the correct operational position even when the disk drive is subjected to transient forces. Preferably, the device would be suitable for use in a handheld device such as a portable video camera. Preferably the mechanism would be suitable for loading and unloading a cartridge which contains an optical data storage disk.
A cartridge load/unload mechanism according to the invention includes a housing, a cartridge tray, and a cam plate. The housing has one or more cartridge tray pin slots, and the cam plate has one or more cam slots. The cam plate is positioned in the housing such that the cam slots are situated adjacent to and at an oblique angle to the cartridge tray pin slots. A cartridge tray pin extends through each cam slot and into the adjacent cartridge tray pin slot. The load/unload mechanism also includes a cartridge load/unload motor and a mechanism for turning the cartridge load/unload motor on when a cartridge has been inserted into the cartridge tray. The cartridge load/unload motor is mechanically coupled to the cam plate. When the cartridge load/unload motor turns on, the cam plate moves, causing the cartridge to be moved between a loaded position, where data can be read from or written to a data storage disk inside the cartridge, and an unloaded position, where data cannot be read from or written to the data storage disk.